Opener for plastic bindings



March 4, 1941. c. E. EMMER 2,234,045

OPENER FOR PLASTIC BINDINGS Filed Sept. 8, 1939 Patented Mar. 4, 1941 UNITED STATES OPENER FOR PLASTIC BINDINGS Charles Edward Emmer, Chicago, Ill., assignor to General Binding Corporation, Chicago, 111., a

corporation of Illinois Application September 8, 1939, Serial No. 293,878

7 Claims.

During recent years, an increasingly large number of catalogs, sales presentation pieces, magazines of the better class, and other forms of books have been bound by what are known as mechanical bindings, that is, bindings which comprise a series of rings extending loosely through holes along the edges of the pages at the back of the book.

One class of mechanical bindings which has been proven to be quite practical and popular is that known as plastic bindings which are formed from sheet Celluloid or similar plastic such as Cellulose acetate.

One practical form of plastic binding is shown l5 in the U. S. Patent to Douvry, No.- 1,970,285 entitled Binding arrangement and dated August 14, 1934, and another, with some modifications thereof, is shown in my copending patent application No. 227,242 entitled Plastic binding 20 and filed on August 29, 1938.

Plastic bindings are used largely for binding publications of limited circulation which are often printed locally in small establishments. Thus, while the binding itself may be made in :5 a factory with relatively expensive production machinery, the actual application of the binding to the book is often done in a small shop which does not do enough of such work to warrant the purchase of a special machine for that purpose.

to It is therefore desirable to provide a small inexpensive hand tool for rapidly and economically applying plastic binding and the like to pages to be bound by the binding. The principal object of this invention is vto provide such a tool.

35 Another object of this invention is to provide an opener for plastic bindings and the like, whose operation will be independent of the spacing of the rings of the binding so that the same device may be used with bindings having their rings w spaced differently.

In order to accomplish these and other objects, I have provided a device whose principal feature is a bayonet or blade of special shape which is adapted to be inserted endwise through the rings of the binding and, when so inserted, spreads the rings open so as to form a gap into which the pages to be bound can be inserted.

Then, when the bayonet or blade is withdrawn,

it allows the rings of the binding to close through 00 the holes in the edges of the pages and thus secure the pages together.

My invention itself, however, both as to its organization and manner of construction, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may

no best be understood by reference to the following description of some of its practical embodiments, and by reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of one of the preferred forms of my invention; a v5 Figure 2 is a side elevation of the form of the invention shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a section, on .an enlarged scale, of a group of pages being secured together with a binding being applied with the device shown ,10 in Figures 1 and 2;

Figure 4 is a side View of the process illustrated in Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a cross section taken on the line VV of Figure 3 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

- Figure 6 is a cross section taken on the line VI-VI of Figure 3 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 7 is a cross section on the line VII-VII of Figure 3 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 8 is a cross section of a modified form of the invention; and

Figure 9 is a side View of another modified form of the invention.

The form of the invention illustrated in Figures 1 to 7 comprises a straight blade or bayonet ll, preferably made of smooth metal and having narrow upstanding flanges 12 and I3 along each side- The main part of the blade ll, therefore, is channel-shaped in cross section, as shown in Figure 7. The base or root end of the blade II is provided with a tang l4 projecting down at approximately right angles to the main part of the blade "and secured in a handle l5.

The end of the blade away from the handle I5 is cut obliquely, as shown in Figure 1, to form a rounded point l6 which is located eccentrically of the blade and approximately in line with the 40 flange 13 along one edge of the blade. The entire blade or bayonet II, and particularly the sloping edge l'i extending back from the point- I6, is smooth .and polished so that it will slide with the minimum of friction through a binding being opened.

The particular form of the-invention shown in Figures 1 and 2 is especially adapted to be used in connection with plastic bindings of the type shown in my above mentioned copending 5 application. As shown in Figures 3 to 7, this form of binding comprises a longitudinally extending backbone 2! from one edge of which extends a plurality of fingers 22, 23, 2t, 25 which are curled around upon themselves to form rings.

The binding 2|25 is made of some material i such as cellulose acetate which is resilient enough open for the insertion of the pages 26.

gether and to permit them to be moved relative to each other.

The binding 2 l-25 is opened up for the inser tion of its rings 22, 23, 24 and 25 into the holes 21 of the pages 26 as follows: The point it of the opener is inserted into the end ring 25 of i the binding, care being taken to see that the binding and the opener are held relative to each other so that the backbone 2| of the binding is on the concave side of the blade or bayonet H and that the ring 25 extends from the backbone 2| past the long straight edge or flange I3 of the blade II and then around the other edge of the blade and not in the opposite direction. The

blade I I of the opening is then pushed all the way into the binding 2l25, whereupon each of the rings 22, 23, 24 and 25 will be spread open by the oblique edge I! extending back from the point l6 of'the blade II and will be held open by the parallel main portion of the blade.

I The position of each ring as the point [6 of the blade or bayonet enters it is illustrated by the ring 23 in Figures 3, 4,.and 5, although these figures illustrate a later stage of the process when the pages 26 are in place. As the blade ll enters each ring, the position of the ring relative to the blade is illustrated by the ring 24 in Figures 3, 4, and 6, and the oblique edge I! of the end of the blade forces the ring open. When the body of the blade is forced into each ring, the position of the ring relative to the blade is illustrated by the ring 25 in Figures 3, 4, and '7, and it will be seen that the ring has now been sprungopen far enough to allow the pages 25 to be inserted.

When the blade H has been forced far enough into the binding 2l-25 to cause all of the rings 22, 23, 24, and 25 to be held open by the parallelsided main portion of the blade II, the perforated edges of the group of pages 26 are placed between the flanges l2 and 13 on the blade of the opener with the perforations 21 aligned with the "rings 22, 23, 24, and 25, and the blade is Withdrawn from the binding. During this operation the pages 26 and the binding 2l-25 are held stationary with respect to each other so that, as the blade H is withdrawn, each of the rings 22,- 2'3, 24 and. 25 closes up upon itself.

As the rings close up, they thread themselves through the holes 2! in the pages 26, this process being illustrated by the rings 25, 24, and 23 which are shown in the drawing as being in successive stages of that process. As may be seen from Figure 5, this process leaves the rings closed up upon themselves and threaded through the holes 2'! in the pages 26, which binds together the pages 26 in the desired relationship.

In Figures 3 to 7, the binding of comparatively small pages, such as might comprise a memorandum book, has been illustrated, but the opener shown in these figures may also be used for the binding of larger pages. When larger pages are to be bound, they are provided with groups of perforations, similar to the perforations 21 in the pages 26, along one edge, each group comprising, for example, four perforations and there being two' or three groups spaced from each other. Then one binding, similar to the binding types of bindings.

2|-25 illustrated in Figures 3 to 7, and having the same number of rings or fingers as there are perforations in each group of perforations is placed in each of said groups of perforations. There will thus be as many binding elements as there are groups of perforations and each one will be placed in position in a distinct operation. It will be readily seen that in carrying out at least one of these operations, the edges of the pages being bound will exend past the handle end of the opener with which the operation is being carried out. Because of this, the trough whose two sides are defined by the flanges l2 and I3 on the blade I I is unobstructed at any point and the handle l5 and its atached means 14 are so constructed as to lie entirely out of line with that trough. This permits the device to be readily used for applying a binding at any point along the edges of a group of pages.

While the form of the device illustrated in FL; ures l to 7 and described above seems, at the present time, to be the most convenient, the device may take other forms. For example, the blade of the device, instead of having a simple channel shaped cross section may be as illustrated in Figure 8 which shows a blade 3! having a longitudinal groove 32 along one edge, the groove 32 being adapted to receive the backbone 2| of the binding shown in Figures 3 to '7. When a binding is opened with the form of the device shown in Figure 8, the only portions of the binding projecting above the blade 3! of the device are the ends of the rings which are to be inserted in the perforations of the pages to be bound, and this may facilitate the lining up of the pages with the rings.

Another form of the device is illustrated in Fig ure 9. In this form of the device, the blade 35, which may be of the same type as in the device illustrated in Figures 1 to '7 or of the type illustrated in Figure 8, is two or three times as long so as to be able to accommodate single bindings long enough to bind large pages with a single long binding element. The handle 38 is located approximately opposite the middle of the blade 35 and is fixed on a tang 3'! at the end of a gooseneck 36 extending around from the butt end of the blade.

While I have described my invention as being used in connection with plastic bindings cf the particular type shown in my above mentioned eo-pending application, it will be obvious that the device may be designed to be used with other In fact, the particular device shown in Figures 1 and 2 operates satisfactorily on plastic bindings of the Douvry type although designed specifically for use upon the type of plastic binding shown by above mentioned ap plication. It will also be apparent that opening devices of this type may be used in connection with bindings of the general type described even though they may be made of other materials than plastic such as, for example, resilient metaL From the above, it will be apparent that I have invented a simple device for opening plastic bindings and applying them to pages to be bound, and this device is extremely simple to operate and extremely inexpensive to manufacture.

While I have shown only three particular embodiments of my invention, it will of course, be understood that I do not wish to be limited thereto, since many other modifications may be made,

claims to" cover all such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of my invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. An opener for binding elements of the type described comprising a smooth round-edged blade having a body portion of even width and a tapered end portion, one edge of said tapered end portion being in line with one edge of said body portion.

2. An opener for binding elements of the type described comprising a smooth round-edged blade having a channel-shaped body portion of even width, a tapered end portion, and a handle, said handle being secured to said body portion at the end thereof opposite said tapered end portion and lying far enough to one side of said body portion so that no portion of said handle or of a hand grasping said handle lies in line with the channel in said channel portion, the channel side of said channel-shaped body portion being completely unobstructed.

3. An opener for binding elements of the type having a plurality of resilient fingers extending around from a longitudinal backbone and forming rings, which comprises a smooth edged blade having a body portion of even width and edge portions curled partially back over the body portion, said width being substantially one and onehalf times the diameter of said rings, and having a tapered end portion.

4. An opener for binding elements of the type described comprising a channel-shaped blade having parallel flanges along each edge, one end of said blade having the form of an oblique point with one of said flanges extending substantially to the end of said point and the other of said flanges terminating at the beginning of said point.

5. An opener for binding elements of the type described comprising a smooth round-edged blade having a body portion of even width and a tapered end portion, said blade being provided with a handle substantially opposite the midpoint thereof and secured to the other end of said blade by a gooseneck.

6. An opener for binding elements of the type described comprising a smooth round-edged blade having a body portion of even width and a tapered end portion, one edge of said blade being formed with a longitudinally extending groove.

7. An opener for binding elements of the type having a plurality of resilient fingers extending around from a longitudinal backbone and forming rings encircling the backbone, which comprises a smooth round-edged blade having a body portion of even width and a tapered end portion, one edge of said tapered end portion being in line with one edge of said body portion and said edge of said tapered end portion and said body portion being provided with a straight longitudinal groove for receiving said longitudinal backbone.

CHARLES EDWARD EMMER. 

